Oklahoma Football Rewind: Takeaways From the Takedown of K-State
By Chip Rouse
Every game is a big one for Oklahoma football from here on out in the 2016 season.
The win over Kansas State on Saturday, the 11th by Bob Stoops in 16 contests against his former coach and mentor, Bill Snyder, gives the Sooners a 3-0 mark through the first half of the season and a third of the way through the Big 12 schedule.
Sooner fans have until midnight Sunday to celebrate and get over Saturday’s win over K-State because after that the attention needs to be fully directed toward Texas Tech and another important road test next Saturday night.
So while we still have the time to relive and relish what the Sooners accomplished over the weekend, here are some extra points to be made about Oklahoma’s fourth conquest of the season.
Stoops’ Sooners Are the Best in the Big 12 Against Kansas State
The win on Saturday was Oklahoma’s 11th over Kansas State in 16 games since the Big 12 came into existence. It was Bob Stoops’ ninth win over his former coach and mentor, Bill Snyder. Kansas State has beaten the Sooners three times while Stoops has been head coach. What’s most relevant, however, about the OU-Kansas State series in football is that the Sooners are the only Big 12 team to have a winning record over Kansas State.
Dede Westbrook Has More Than Answered the Call
It wasn’t that many weeks ago that Sooner fans were worried sick over what the Oklahoma Air Raid attack under defensive coordinator Lincoln Riley would be like following the departure of Sterling Shepard, one of best receivers in Sooner football history. That concern has been answered, and then some.
In the past three games alone, Dede Westbrook has put on a one-man display of excellence on the pass-receiving front. Twice in the past three weeks, the senior wide receiver has hauled in three touchdown catches, and on the week that he didn’t, he caught two TD balls.
In those three games, his total yardage on touchdown catches has been 389, and average of 48.6 yards per reception. Westbrook has 25 total catches for a combined 574 yards in the Oklahoma wins over TCU, Texas and Kansas State.
He had 10 receptions for 232 yards against Texas, a new single-game school mark, and his 574 receiving yards in the past three games is a new program record over that span, breaking the old mark of 500 yards set by Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma’s all-time receiving leader, in 2010.
The Man They Call “Obo” Is a Disruptive Defender
Redshirt junior linebacker Ogbonnia “Obo” Okornonkwo – now you see why he acquired the nickname – has been perhaps the most disruptive player on the maligned Sooner defense. If he isn’t getting his hands on the quarterback, he definitely is close by. His presence alone puts pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
The 6-foot, 2-inch, 245-pound outside linebacker has six sacks in five games this season, including one on Saturday against Kansas State at the end of the third quarter that resulted in a 12-yard loss. He also made five tackles on the day.
For the season, “Obo” has been in on 38 total tackles (23 of them solo) and been credited with four quarterback hurries to go along with his six sacks.
Asked after the Kansas State game about how the Sooner defense has shown more consistency in recent weeks, Okoronkwo said: “Practice. Taking practice as serious as possible. The better we do and the harder we play translates to Saturday. We’re getting to the midpoint in the year and the guys are getting (more) comfortable.
Two-Headed Running-Back Monster Will Be Down to One for Another Couple of Weeks
Junior running back Samaje Perine started out the Kansas State game with 23 rushing yards in the Sooners’ opening possession and capped off an opening touchdown drive with a 25-yard touchdown catch and run. On the Sooners’ next offensive possession, however, Perine limped off the field with an apparent leg injury and did not return the remainder of the game.
Stoops said at the time that Perine had pulled a muscle and could probably play if he was needed, but otherwise would remain on the sidelines.
In his weekly Monday press conference, the Oklahoma head coach upgraded his star running back’s injury status to a pulled hamstring and said Perine would be out two to three weeks. In his absence, the Sooners will go with sophomore Joe Mixon picking up the bulk of the responsibilities, along with freshman Abdul Adams.
The schedule breaks right for OU in light of losing Perine for at least a couple of games. The next three games are against Texas Tech, Kansas and Iowa State.
That would mean Perine, who has rushed for 475 yards and six touchdowns this season, would be back for Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma State to close out the regular season and, hopefully, the Sooners’ run to the conference title.
Perine is 581 yards away from tying Billy Sims for the most career rushing yards at Oklahoma.
By Staying Aggressive, Sooners’ Kept K-State in Constant Catch-up Mode
Against Kansas State, there was no late-game charge that made the game interesting and left things very much in doubt at the end.
Kansas State sliced a 31-10 Sooner lead to 14 points early in the fourth quarter on a long touchdown pass (something the OU secondary has seen way too often this season) but struck back three minutes later with one of its own, as Baker Mayfield and Dede Westbrook hooked up on an 88-yard touchdown bomb to return the OU lead to 21 and suck the remaining life right out of K-State.
“You have to stay aggressive against a defense like K-State.” said Sooner offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley in postgame comments immediately following Saturday’s game. “If you start being conservative (which Oklahoma has been accused of being in past games when it has gone up by a couple of scores) and handing off every time, they (Kansas State) will prey on you.
“They’re one of the best run defenses in the country. We felt like, sooner or later, we were going to have to take a shot. We trust our guys. I have a lot of trust in Baker.”
Watch Out If You Are Oklahoma’s Opponent After Texas Game
Where are those people who seemingly every year come up with the cockamamie notion that Oklahoma suffers a letdown the game after it plays it archrival Texas in the annual Red River Showdown, especially if the Sooners defeat the Longhorns.
I heard that analysis going around again this past week. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone among the Kansas State faithful was behind that ludicrous claim. They should know better than that, though, given that Oklahoma is 3-1 against Kansas State with Bob Stoops as the OU head coach coming off the Red River rivalry game the week before.
Kansas State hasn’t fared much better against the Sooners when they’ve gone against them since 2000 the week before OU has gone to Dallas to bash heads with that hated team on the other side of the Red River divide. Oklahoma is 2-0 under Stoops in that scenario.
All told, Bob Stoops and the Sooners are 17-1 in the game following the Red River Showdown.
Sound like much of a letdown to you?